Shut Up and Dance with Me
by aaaaaaaaaa-sa-a
Summary: In which Percy and Annabeth go to a school party, and one of them needs a lesson in the art of dance. AU. Fluff. One-shot.


**AN: I was scrolling through Tumblr, and I stumbled upon this prompt: "Imagine your OTP ballroom dancing; Person A has to teach Person B, but it's ok because they're a fast learner." **

**Thus, this was born.**

Annabeth had no idea why she was there.

Her dress was itchy, the punch tasted horrible, and the _music_. Good gods, the _music_. The sound of a boyband Annabeth had no interest in learning the name of blared through the speakers, their squeaky voices prompting her to tear her hair out.

What was even worse was the fact that her so-called _friends_ chatted with two guys across the gym-turned dance floor.

Half-sisters Silena and Piper had dragged her to the dance, saying it was her last one before moving onto high school the following semester. Silena had been begging her to go to these kinds of things for _years,_ but she had always refused. And then Piper showed up, asking desperately for Annabeth to play wingman on her date with Jason Grace.

She accepted, but then it turned out Piper was _perfectly_ capable of flirting with a guy without her help.

Now, Annabeth was here for no reason, completely miserable as girls squealing over the boyband–_Big Time Rush_, apparently–nearly deafened her.

"Gah!" she grunted as she clasped her manicured (against her will, mind you) hands over her ears.

She removed them just in time to hear someone say, "You look like you could use a good time."

;

Percy loved dances.

He didn't know why. There was just something…_fun_ about middle-school-aged students dressing up and pairing up to dance their hearts away–until curfew, of course.

Even though Percy had never scored a date to actually dance with, he had fun none the less. Plus, he knew how to slow dance if a girl asked him at the actual party.

He usually went with the guys, but pretty much all his friends had dates. Jason was with Piper McLean, Beckendorf with her older sister, Silena. Leo looked downright _elated_ as he took Calypso's arm and led her out onto the dance floor. (Though she did seem a little embarrassed of him when _Girl on Fire _started playing and he moved like what may have been the impression of a dolphin having a seizure. But she danced alongside him anyway.)

The only two left were Nico and Will, and they might as well have been on their own date, anyway.

But that didn't matter. Percy could still dance, and he did.

Up until _Big Time Rush_ came through the speakers, and he was done. No man in his right mind would willingly dance to a boyband, so he stepped off the floor, snickering at Travis Stoll who was being roped into dancing with Katie Gardner as he went.

He went for the punch bowl, but then a spotted a certain blond that he _may_ have a crush on, and he swerved over to her.

When she removed her hands from her ears, he said, "You look like you could use a good time."

;

Annabeth jumped, and she looked where the voice came from. She relaxed when she saw who it was.

She and Percy Jackson had been friends–_best_ friends–for a little over a year now. Percy had been the new kid, Annabeth had been in his class, and the rest was history.

Percy grinned at her, his hair messy and his eyes bright. Her heart stuttered and her face heated up, a tingly feeling sprouting in her stomach.

These things had been happening for two months now whenever her eyes found Percy. She had asked her mom about it, wondering if it was medical, but her mom just laughed and said, "No, dear, it's not medical; it's a part of growing." And didn't elaborate further.

It was frustrating, not knowing what these…_feelings_ meant. She'd never talked to Percy about it, though. Whenever she thought of bringing it up in conversation, it felt like her heart was going to burst and her stomach did backflips.

She shook out of her trance. "Yeah," she replied, a sigh to her voice. "I was supposed to be serving as Piper's" –she waved her hand at Piper and Jason Grace– "wingman, but it seems she can do fine on her own."

"Hmm," he hummed, then he scrunched up his nose. "Wait. Only guys have wingmen."

Scoffing, she shoved his shoulder. "That's so _sexist_ of you."

"What does _that_ mean?" he asked, shoving her back lighter than she had.

"It _means_," she said, "that you think that one gender does everything of this activity, but can't do another, because that's another genders activity." Seeing his confused face, she explains further. "Like how you just said _only_ boys can have wingmen, and like how people say _only_ women can take care of the children. Get it?"

"Yeah…" He nodded. Then shook his head. "No."

"Whatever," she huffed. She tucked an imagery curl behind her ear, since Silena had used barrettes and pins to keep her unruly hair in one place.

His eyes followed the movement, and then they widened in surprise. Probably realizing she was in an actual _dress_ instead of her usual T-shirt and shorts.

Red tinted his cheeks and nose. "You, uh, you look pretty, Annabeth."

That tingly feeling in her stomach intensified, and she felt her own face heat up. Dragging her nails against her hair again, she mumbled, "Thanks."

They fell into silence. His pinky brushed against hers', sending warmth up her arm, but he quickly retracted his hand, coughing awkwardly into his fist.

"Y-you look really pr-pretty," he stuttered.

"You said that." She cocked her head to the side, craning her neck to get a better view of him. "You don't look too bad yourself, Seaweed Brain."

His ears turned pink, and he took his hand away from his mouth to smile at her. She found herself smiling back. His reached out for her hand again.

"Hey, guys!" Leo yelled, running at them. Calypso chatted with Zoe Nightshade over at the punch table. He stopped, waggling his eyebrows at Percy with a teasing smile. "Am I…_interrupting_ something here?"

Percy immediately jerked his hand away from her to rub at his throat. "N-no," he said defiantly.

It made Annabeth suspicious, because she knew he was lying. He always rubbed his throat when he was lying.

"Uh-huh." Leo didn't sound convinced, but went on telling them what he planned on telling them in the first place.

"Ok, so, I was at the drinking fountain, right? Just minding my own business and getting some water, when Mrs. Dodds comes up and literarily, like, _shoves_ me out of the way, saying in her cranky old hag voice, 'Move, Valdez! I'm the teacher, so I get some water before you!'" Leo held his nose to get the impersonation of the old teacher just right, and Annabeth couldn't help but chuckle. Percy did, too.

"Then guess what she says after that?" Leo prompted.

"What?" Annabeth humored him.

"She turns and fixes me with a death glare, pointing at me and shrieking, 'I'm watching you, Valdez! So don't get any ideas of disappearing behind the bushes with that Callie girl you're with!'"

Annabeth had to bring her hand up to cover her mouth, muffling her laughter, because, really? Leo was twelve, and Calypso only a year older, the same as Annabeth. Percy's whole body shook with laughter, but he held it in.

"You wanna know what _I_ said to _her_?"

"Hmm?" she asked behind her hand. If she were to talk while laughing so hard, her pubescent voice would probably crack.

"'Well, I'll be watching you, too! You never know when you and Mr. Thanatos are gonna disappear under a desk!'"

That time, they burst out laughing. Percy pressed his forehead on Annabeth's shoulder to steady himself, since he'd fall on his face if he didn't, and she stopped, her heart stuttering like it was trying to catch up.

"_Leo_!" The boy in question was suddenly jerked away, Calypso tugging on his sleeve. "This is my favorite song! C'mon!"

Annabeth glanced at the dance floor, and realized that the music had gotten slower. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went back to dancing, this time slow dancing. The students without dates stepped off.

She spotted Silena with her arms around Charles Beckendorf's neck, and Piper and Jason Grace were trying to get situated for the new dancing. Jason Grace's face was bright red, and Piper giggled at him.

A hand appeared in her vision. "C'mon," Percy said, grinning at her.

"What?" Her voice sounded high as she realized his intentions. Her face turned slightly redder. "No."

He pouted at her. "Why not?"

"Be-because I don't want to," Annabeth announced, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She jutted out her chin.

"C'mon, Wise Girl. That's not a good enough excuse." He prodded his hand father into her bubble space. "Dance with me." She shook her head. "Oh, come on, Annabeth! It's just a little…dance…Unless…"

"Unless what?"

A mischievous smile played on his lips. "Unless you don't know _how_…?"

"_What_?" she demanded, feeling a blush burn across her entire face. She clenched her hands and scoffed. "Of _course_ I know how to dance."

He knew she was lying. She could tell.

His hand flashed out, latching onto her elbow. He tugged her to the dance floor. "Let's go! _I'm_ giving _you_ a _lesson_ on dancing!"

"Percy, let-let me go!" She struggled against him, planting her feet, but he already had her on the floor.

"Okay, pupil Annabeth," Percy said proudly (it wasn't often that _he_ could teach _her_ things), "the first step is: Hands."

Telling her where to direct hers', she had one palm resting on his shoulder and the other was fitted in his. His free hand pressed against her hip, making her want to duck her head. That wouldn't do much good, of course. Since she was taller, he'd still be able to see her face.

"Now we're going to do a simple box step, K? Just do what my feet do."

He stepped to the side. She tried to do the same thing, but ended up stepping on his toes.

"Gaaaah!" he exclaimed, his face slightly twisted in pain. Annabeth winced and began to pull away, but he kept her there. "I'm fine," he huffed. "That was good for a beginner, Wise Girl. Now just…there we go."

They managed to do a single box step without injuring any toes. Then, she tripped over his feet, teetering sideways, her shoulder slamming into Katie Gardener's back.

_Sorry,_ she mouthed before going back to concentrating on _not_ stepping on Percy's toes.

After four perfect box steps, she said, "I think I'm getting it, Percy! I think I'm–"

She tripped over his foot again. But this time, she fell forward. She thrust her hands out, balancing herself on his chest while both his hands set on her waist to steady her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I, uh…" Her eyes went wide, that blush coming back again, and she quickly pulled away, brushing imagery dirt off her dress. Her words are short and slightly panicky. "Yeah. I'm fine. You?"

"Great." He caught her gaze with a sincere smile. "You wanna try again?"

"Sure."

Placing their hands on their original spots, they got back to it. The song–the one that Calypso liked–died down and was replaced by another slow song, this one slightly more upbeat so that single people could dance alone and the couples could still slow dance.

Annabeth got better at this dancing thing, right up to the point where they can talk and dance at the same time without someone dying. Percy even saw fit to add a twirl.

But then he stopped adding them, because she nearly fell on her face.

He said something funny, and she laughed at his joke.

She realized that she had a reason to be here after all.

**AN: ****WARNING****: DO NOT TAKE THE DANCING LESSON THAT I JUST SHOWED ABOVE TO HEART. I CANNOT DANCE. I MOVE LIKE LEO DOES WHILE DANCING TO **_**GIRL ON FIRE**_**. SERIOUSLY. I TRIED ONCE. I SCARED THE CAT. THE DOG RAN AWAY. MY FAMILY DISOWNED ME.**

**(But not really.)**

**(But really: Don't dance like I do.)**

**Something that I had not remembered until writing this: Zoe Nightshade and Calypso are _sisters_, both being daughters of Atlas. Huh.**

**This was not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Big Time Rush.**

**Reviews really do mean a lot to me!**


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